The Tennessee Titans will report to training camp next week. As of this writing, second-round EDGE Femi Oladejo isn't scheduled to be in attendance. Oladejo hasn't signed his rookie contract due to a league-wide dispute over guaranteed money in second-round deals. The current CBA doesn't allow players to attend camp without a signed contract.
The Houston Texans threw negotiations with second-round picks into disarray after making the unprecedented decision to sign their No. 35 selection to a fully-guaranteed deal. As a result, 30 of the 32 second-round draftees, Oladejo included, have been in a holding pattern. The Los Angeles Chargers already reported to camp without their rookie second rounder in attendance, marking the first official holdout.
Despite the ongoing standoff nearly reaching its buzzer beater, the Titans received some fantastic news overnight, giving them an upper hand in negotiations with Oladejo. The San Francisco 49ers signed second-round pick Alfred Collins to his rookie contract. Collins, the 43rd pick, did NOT receive a fully-guaranteed deal.
Titans now possess upper hand in Femi Oladejo negotiations
Collins received 87.37 percent of his rookie deal guaranteed, according to Pro Football Talk. That's roughly 10 percent more than the 43rd pick got in guarantees last year, per Mike Florio. With Oladejo being drafted nine picks (No. 52) after Collins, he no longer possesses leverage to request a fully-guaranteed deal.
The 49ers and Collins met in the middle and the first breakthrough occurred. Oladejo's representation can't realistically expect to sign a fully guaranteed contract now. What they can request is a five-to-10 percent increase in total guarantees compared to whatever last year's 52nd overall selection received. That’s what Collins got. Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi shouldn't find issue with that.
The Titans desperately need Oladejo at camp. EDGE is arguably the weakest position on the entire roster. Furthermore, Oladejo has fewer than 10 games of experience under his belt at the pass-rushing position after playing off-ball linebacker for the majority of his time at UCLA. He needs the training camp reps to continue developing at his new position.
The Titans just received the news they needed to get Oladejo signed to his rookie contract.